Page 22 of Firestorm
I ended up telling the entire story to a gaping Willow and a sympathetic Mia.
“Now I have this pain in my chest.” I finished, blowing out a breath.
To my horror, Willow wiped at tears on her cheeks. “That’s so awful, Skyes!”
My chest panged for a completely different reason, now.
Zephyr called me Skyes.
Willow gasped before throwing herself at me on the bed. I was wrapped in another frantic hug while I wiped at tears.
“Mia, this is a pizza emergency. We’re staying in tonight.” Willow declared dramatically. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“No problem, babe, I’ll order it.” Mia stood and shuffled outside, leaving me with a horrifyingly emotional Willow.
“Sorry,” I said softly. “My brother calls me Skyes. I really miss him.”
“Oh no, I willnevercall you that again! This is so weird, I’ve never been this comfortable with a new friend before.” Willow said, furrowing her golden eyebrows as she pulled away from me.
“You can call me that, it’s fine, really. I’m just super raw. And I feel the same way…you do feel like I’m just a friend, right?” I asked nervously, really,reallynot wanting to hurt her feelings and also feeling like an asshole for assuming she’d be into me just because she was into Mia.
“Yeah!” she replied brightly. “I had my testing done last year. Mia was an accident, but the others haven’t been entered into the system. Mia did her testing as soon as we realized we were into each other. We didn’t want to have any issues if it turned out she wasn’t in my Chain.”
“That’s always seemed so weird to me,” I commented. “If someone I loved, loved someone else, who would I be to force them apart?”
Willow’s easy grin turned into a grimace as Mia sat back down on Willow’s bed, quietly listening while sensing Willow’s discomfort.
“So, this mystery man is definitely in your Chain.” Willow said, clearly changing the subject as she moved closer to Mia. “You found him by accident, but it explains all the weirdness. We should totally try to find him. You said he works here?” Willow gasped suddenly. “I wonder if my brother knows him!”
“Your brother?” I asked, my heartbeat speeding up slightly.
“He’s a counselor here,” Mia explained as Willow tapped her chin thoughtfully.
My mind began to race as I tried to find a way to change the subject so that Willow’s brother wasn’t suddenly on the lookout for an asshole love-interest of mine. “I don’t really want to go chasing a dude that ran away from me after a kiss. Nor do I think I want a random man to know this whole story, either.”
Willow cackled while Mia grinned.
“He was probably just scared,” Mia said.
Willow gasped dramatically. “What if he’smarried?!”
“That would definitely be the cherry on top of my fucked up life.” I muttered. Mia snorted and Willow looked genuinely stricken.
“Mia,” Willow said. “I’m so sad our new friend is so sad.”
Mia laughed while I rolled my eyes, and then a knock at the door signaled that our pizza had arrived. As we settled in with our pizza and chatter, a warmth bloomed in my chest.
Maybe I would be okay here after all.
Chapter 7
Skye
Hey,I pushed the thought toward Zephyr.
Skyes! Are you okay? What’s happened? I’ve been so fucking worried.
I sighed, relaxing as I made my way across the courtyard to my first class. The air was chilly first thing in the morning around here and I already hated it. I missed the warmer weather of my home island. The Western Academy wasn’t far from a beach, but being inland from the Bay area made it seem like we were completely hidden away in the Pacific Northwest.
